For too many, their memory of Wallace is limited to one year, 1948, when Wallace was defeated as the Progressive Party candidate for president. Culver and Hyde write how Wallace was a genuine renaissance man, a scientist, businessman, writer, philosopher, and prophet. Throughout his 13 and a half year career as a cabinet member and Vice President, he was extraordinarily successful, innovative, effective and dynamic. In keeping the long view, he was guardian of the heart and soul of our democracy. He forsaw much of what has come to pass and is still yet to be done. Culver and Hyde give us the unvarnished story, which, in sum, leaves the reader with the feeling of being blessed that such a courageous man lived and fought for us. Readers owe a huge debt of gratitude to Culver and Hyde for condensing into one volume such a multi-faceted life. The times alone would have drowned most writers. Synthesizing many sources, some not known before, the authors give us a full portrait of a great and courageous man whose life defined the best of what is a liberal.

In 'American Dreamer', Hyde and Culver give a well-written and balanced account of the life on one of the most enigmatic and progressive political leaders that America has ever produced. Why his name has never come up in years of taking history courses amazes me- especially in light of the fact that his thoughts on the cold war, which he tried desperately to steer us away from, turned out to be quite prescient.

Henry Agard Wallace was Secretary of Agriculture for eight years, Vice President for four and Commerce Secretary for a short time before his forced ouster. Wallace ran for the Presidency in 1948 on the Progressive ticket, lost, and then left public office. What Wallace left us during this time was a legacy of innovative leadership, genuine public service and a virtual revolution in agriculture.

Wallace eschewed the world of dog eat dog politics and preferred appealing directly to the public than orchestrating back room machinations. He was honest, direct, practical and always put the public good above his own wants or ambitions. In short, he had everything that seems to be lacking in the American political spectrum today.

As I read the book I couldn't help but think what would have happened if Wallace had remained Vice President (instead of Truman) and therefore become President at Roosevelt's death. It seems to me that the worse excesses of the cold war and the red scare could have been avoided and that US policy in just about every area may have been put on a more evenly keeled tack for the future (it would have been undone later, but hell, it's a start).

Wallace was often accused of being an impractical dreamer- but if what he accomplished in his years of public service were the deeds of an impractical dreamer- then we can certainly use more of them.

The main thing that is lacking from this biography is a full picture of Henry Wallace the man. There are a number of hints that his family life following his marriage was rather troubled and unhappy, but his wife, children, and siblings remain on the periphery of the authors' presentation. (For example, it mentions that his oldest son never forgave him for one particular disagreement, but never elaborates or returns to their relationship. His wife was obviously uncomfortable with his entrance into electoral politics, but the book never explores this in any depth.) The book also seems to compress its account of the final 15 years of his life to a snapshot at best; it would have been nice to know more about how he viewed American politics--both national and international--in the years preceding his death, how he felt about his relative anonymity, and whether he ever felt fully vindicated for taking the rather lonely political path he took.

As a result, the portrayal of his later life in particular seems to be a bit one dimensional. But these are minor flaws in what is otherwise a captivating biography of a very intricate individual. Most people will learn a lot from this book; I certainly did.

Frank is an incredibly skilled image maker, able communicate on many different levels with a single image. Jack Kerouac is the perfect person to write the intro to this book. Both artists worked in a similar way, using travel, speed and chance to communicate fleeting, yet deep, feelings about our complex culture.

Perfectly enjoyable by anyone with an interest in American culture, but essential for those practicing documentary photography.

For those of you who believe that a "war on freedom" is in the works, this title will not only reaffirm your belief but will show you how it's ten times worse than you originally thought. Unlike many books which are simply based on hearsay, this title cites the cold, hard facts in excruciating detail. You can expect to see examples and be pointed to verifiable sources, not just the philosophic ramblings of the author.

This book is unrelenting attack on everything you thought you knew. From building codes to taxes, this book explores the cold, dark world that is our government.

When you have finished reading this title, your outlook on life will be changed. The title is that powerful. If you buy only one book this year, that book should be "The Ballard of Carl Drega". Eight died on that bridge in Lexington back in 1775, how many will it take this time?

As an author and fighter for Truth, Justice, and the American Way, it is rare that I learn something new regarding our battle--but when I do, it's often from Vin. I read this book with great profit. So will you. Buy it, for time is short...

Vin Suprynowicz resents bureaucratic hubris and the bullying tactics of the faceless public servants who abuse their power over the citizens who pay their wages. He is a Libertarian who, by definition, believes the least government is the best government.

This book is a collection of tales of such abuses, which Suprynowicz relates in such a way that any reader with a heart will become enraged as they read.

Carl Drega, the title case, as depicted here, was a citizen who ran up against a particularly stupid and mean city hall. Over a period of decades, he tried to prevent them from treading on his freedom and confiscating his property. Finally, he was driven to violent action which resulted in the deaths of several of his tormentors and himself. An understandable reaction, even if one cannot condone it.

On the back cover, the author explains his view succinctly:

"In a free country, individuals have almost limitless rights--to travel as they please, carry private arms, consume any plant or drug, keep what they earn, raise their kids as they see fit..all without showing any license or permit..."

Of course, as the population grows, the number of kooks grows with it, and as surely as the night follows the day, laws are enacted to restrain them...laws which inevitably restrain the freedoms of everyone, including the law-abiding and guiltless. Then, as the politicians and bureaucrats seek to curry favor with the electorate and thus ensure their continued tenure in office, they pass more laws granting health care, social security, and other socialistic schemes. But, when the government robs Peter to pay Paul, it can always count on the support of Paul, and as the numbers of Pauls increase the government becomes more and more powerful, and more and more difficult to reform and to return to its rightful, constitutional role.

So, we have arrived at where we are today--with a government that no longer adheres to its constitutional role, that is to provide a level playing field where all are equal before the law, to a socialistic society where government is looked to as the solution to all cultural ills, and gradually, step by step, freedom is lost to paternalism. Where taxation is unevenly applied, depending on one's income, and where equality of opportunity is replaced by the attempt to achieve equality of result. If you have more than me, it is your legal duty to share your wherewithal with me, despite the work it has taken you to get yours, and the laziness or stupidity that may be the cause of my poverty.

This is the society that Vin Suprynowicz depicts, with all of its injustice, favoritism, cruelty and tragedy.

Is there any chance that we will ever get back to the Bill of Rights and constitutional government? Time will tell, but the prospects look bleak. The author is probably a voice crying in the wilderness for a lost cause.

Joe Pierre

author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance

Set near the turn of the century, around WW1, this is a view of every young woman's dream of marriage-a fun, intelligent, strong husband who adores you. Betsy and Joe are friends first, lovers second, something which is always important. At one point, Joe states that he can talk to Betsy, and that he fantasizes about their home life. A lot of guys could take a page from Joe's book!

This book is in no way dated, bringing Betsy to the close of her girlhood and teenage years. If you liked "Anne of Green Gables" or other books by Montgomery, check out Lovelace, for both your little girls and not-so-little girls.

Each short chapter--beginning with Native American earth lodges and ending with speculative space station housing--covers a specific type of home architecture in the United States. Walker's straightforward prose is accompanied by cutaway drawings, detailed floor plans, and superbly rendered drawings of home exteriors.

It would be impossible in a short review to name all of the various styles covered by Walker. He covers everything from such well-known styles as the A-frame and Greek Revival to styles that may be less familiar to some: the baled hay and sod homes of 1890s Nebraska, the silo and yurt homes which gained popularity in the 1970s, and more. Another fascinating part of the book is the presence of many famous homes: Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water, and more.

Along the way, the reader will encounter many wonderful surprises--check out, for example, the "Elephant House" designed by James Lafferty! "American Shelter" is a book that you can pick up and start reading anywhere. But if you read this from cover to cover, you will have taken a truly epic journey with a master artist-historian.

Lester Walker spent hundreds of hours researching various American architectural styles, going to such sources as the 1900's editions of Ladies Home Journal, which published plans for "A Small House With Lots of Room in it" by a young upstart named Frank Lloyd Wright. Walker gives us the first-floor house plans, along with a birds-eye view of Wright's "Small House." In this illustration Walker uses captions and arrows to innumerate the salient features of "Wrightian" architecture.

So it goes throughout American Shelter. Walker starts with the dwellings of American Indians and takes us through over 100 different styles that were popular at one time or another in our diverse history. A read through this book is a stroll through our history. The author not only points out the defining features of each style, but also tells why and how it came into vogue.

Color photos are not the only "must have" features conspicuously absent. Missing is also judgmental, cavalier, snobbery. No architectural style is treated as inferior, common, or "tiresome." Quonset Hut, Converted Train Car, and Prefabricated are given just as much respect as Victorian, International, and Prairie.

Examples of houses of various architects that typify or characterize each style are shown in line drawings with accompanying floor plans and often with illustrations on house building styles or techniques. For example, on page 71 a "method for making cedar clapboards" is illustrated. Balloon, Platform, and Post and Beam framing methods are explained with accompanying illustrations.

The book is about individual dwelling units, not apartment houses, and not commercial or industrial buildings. For what it is, and does, it is the definitive work. I have had many hours of enjoyable reading and learning from this book. My only complaint is with the bookbinder, not the author. Some of the pages of my copy are upside down! Perhaps, like the famous upside-down airplane stamp, my copy is rare and valuable? Then again: perhaps not, but right side up, or upside down, it has been well worth the purchase price.

One final piece of advise: buy the hardback copy, not the paperback. This book is a "keeper", one you will frequenly get down from the bookself to review, loan to friends (holding the friend's firstborn ransome for the book's return), and pass on in your will.

To those of us in the late twentieth century, the idea of petitioning to consider a prayer for action, the Constitutional sanctity of the act, and the relative abuse of the privilege by Congressmen both North and South seems the actions of an almost foreign government. The nearly maniacal desire of Congress to avoid any discussion of slavery in toto also seems incredible in light of government today. Using Congressional records to retell the story in the words of the participants, Miller weaves a fascinating tale as forces in the North try to ensure the rights of their petitioners, as well as deal with continued efforts to stop them dead in their tracks.

There are three major areas to the book: the opening of the slavery issues in Congress, with the presentation and fights by Southern radicals to keep any admittance of them from even appearing in Congress, the development and passage of the "gag rule," in which any attempt to place a petition in front of Congress regarding slavery was "gagged," and finally, the story of former President John Quincy Adams in these fights, and his efforts to support the rights of American constituents in these battles.

The story of Adams is the centerpiece of the book. In laying out the man who would not back down to both Southern and Northern Democratic interests, Miller brings back to life an American figure who is likely lost to many of our generation. Adams, already in his sixties as the slavery battles began, was an unlikely hero. Having served in nearly every capacity he could prior to agreeing to run for Congress after his presidential term, he brought a dogged determination to duty that is hardly recognizable in today's terms. Adams was not an abolitionist, but he was determined that the voices of his constituents, should they be of an abolition ideal, should be heard in the halls of Congress. To that end, he battled for a decade to make those voices heard.

Making use of Adams's massive personal diary, historical context, as well as the Congressional Globe coverage of the proceedings of Congress, Miller delivers the story of these battles in the words of those who were there. Thus, we can see the fanatical words of South Carolinian planter James Henry Hammond: "And I warn the abolitionists, ignorant, infatuated, barbarians that they are, that if chance shall throw any of them into our hands he may expect a felon's death," and Waddy Thompson, Jr.: "In my opinion nothing will satisfy the excited, the almost frenzied South, but an indignant rejection of these petitions [calling for the end of slavery in the District of Columbia]; such a rejection as will at the same time that it respects the right of petitioning, express the predetermination, the foregone conclusion of the House on the subject -- a rejection, sir, that will satisfy the South, and serve as an indignant rebuke to the fanatics of the North." And finally, we see and hear in our minds eye the torture of Adams as he struggles to balance his personal devotion to his country (he was a strong Unionist) with his obligations and duties to his office. Looking at war as a possibility between the two sides of the Union, he concludes in his diary: "It seems to me that its result [that of war] might be the extirpation of slavery from this whole continent; and, calamitous and desolating as this course of events in its progress must be, so glorious would be its final issue, that, as God shall judge me, I dare not say that it is not to be desired."

Much more than just a chronological narration of events, Miller weaves in background of the events and personalities in order to make his subject come alive. Arguing About Slavery is a book outside the mainstream of standard Civil War book fare, but a must if you have any desire to understand the people, events, and stories that led to the great conflict beginning in 1861.

Any soldier or leader concerned with mission accomplishment and force protection through the artistic application of Maneuver Warfare (Auftragstaktik) simply MUST read this book. It is highly entertaining as well as informative. Indeed, any commander whose unit is scheduled for a rotation to JRTC should require every officer and NCO to read this book no later than twelve months out (thirty-six months out for RC units). You may go without it...but only at your own peril.